The ladies here at BadassBookReviews.com love Ilona Andrews’ books and wanted to do something special to commemorate the ending of “The Edge” series, at least in its current iteration. Not only do we have a review and giveaway of the newest novel, Steel’s Edge, but Ilona and Gordon were nice enough to provide their input on their amazing characters to create the guest feature below: Casting the Series. Check out their picks for who they would cast as the leads from each book of “The Edge” and see if their ideas match up to what you picture when you read the novels. Also, don’t miss our giveaway of a copy of Steel’s Edge at the bottom of the post!

Synopsis from Goodreads: Rose Drayton lives on the Edge, between the world of the Broken and the Weird. Only Edgers like Rose can easily travel from one world to the next, but they never truly belong in either.

Rose thought if she practiced her magic, she could build a better life for herself and her two younger brothers. But things didn’t turn out how she planned, and now she works a minimum-wage, off-the-books job in the Broken just to survive. Then Declan Camarine, a blueblood noble straight out of the deepest part of the Weird, comes into her life, determined to have her (and her power).

But when a terrible danger invades the Edge from the Weird, a flood of creatures hungry for magic, Declan and Rose must work together to destroy them—or they’ll devour the Edge and everyone in it.

Ilona and Gordon Cast On The Edge:

For Rose, we imagine a young Sandra Bullock. Rose is young, but she has been through a lot and both she and Sandra Bullock seem very kind and share a certain down-to-earth quality. For Declan on the otherhand, we agreed on a young Sean Bean. Declan has that mix of being brought up in a very aristocratic atmosphere with a strict code of honor, yet he also solves his problems with his sword. He is a soldier and nobody plays soldiers like Sean Bean.

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Synopsis from Goodreads: Cerise Mar and her unruly clan are cash poor but land rich, claiming a large swathe of the Mire, the Edge swamplands between the state of Louisiana and the Weird.

When her parents vanish, her clan’s long-time rivals are suspect number one.But all is not as it seems. Two nations of the Weird are waging a cold war fought by feint and espionage, and their conflict is about to spill over into the Edge—and Cerise’s life . William, a changeling soldier who left behind the politics of the Weird, has been forced back into service to track down a rival nation’s spymaster.

When William’s and Cerise’s missions lead them to cross paths, sparks fly—but they’ll have to work together if they want to succeed…and survive.

Ilona and Gordon Cast Bayou Moon:

For William, when we saw this picture of Hugh Jackman, it was all over. You look at it and you think, “Wolf.” He has the precise mix of being slightly scruffy, but still somehow clean-cut. Cerise was much harder because of her unique heritage, but we thought that Aishwarya Rai was perfect. There is a scene in Bayou Moon when Cerise, who had been playing part of a hobo, finally washes off her mud disguise. When William sees her, all of his systems short-circuit. Doesn’t this picture match the scene perfectly?

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Synopsis from Goodreads: Born to a family of conmen, Audrey Callahan left behind her life in the Edge for an unmagical existence in the Broken.Audrey is determined to stay on the straight and narrow, but when her brother gets into hot water, the former thief takes on one last heist and finds herself matching wits with a jack of all trades.Kaldar Mar is a gambler, a lawyer, a thief, and a spy with some unusual talents that guarantee him lucrative work. When his latest assignment has him tracking down a stolen item, Kaldar doesn’t expect much of a challenge—until Audrey turns up to give him a run for his money.

But when the missing item falls into the hands of a lethal criminal, Kaldar realizes that in order to finish the job and survive, he’s going to need Audrey’s help…

Ilona and Gordon Cast Fate’s Edge:

In Fate’s Edge, Audrey is a funny yet very pretty redhead and there is only one choice for us… Amanda Righetti. Audrey is kind of a chameleon and Amanda would be able to pull that off perfectly. Kaldar was much harder to cast in our minds. We finally agreed on Karl Urban. He usually takes more intense roles, but we both think that he could totally make Kaldar’s humor and personality come alive.

We also felt compelled to include Ling the Merciless.

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Synopsis from Goodreads: Charlotte de Ney is as noble as they come, a blueblood straight out of the Weird. But even though she possesses rare magical healing abilities, her life has brought her nothing but pain.After her marriage crumbles, she flees to the Edge to build a new home for herself. Until Richard Mar is brought to her for treatment, and Charlotte’s life is turned upside down once again. Richard is a swordsman without peer, future head of his large and rambunctious Edger clan—and he’s on a clandestine quest to wipe out slavers trafficking humans in the Weird.

When his presence leads very dangerous enemies to Charlotte, she vows to help Richard destroy them. The slavers’ operation goes deeper than Richard knows, and even working together, Charlotte and Richard may not survive…

Ilona and Gordon Cast Steel’s Edge:

In Steel’s Edge, Richard was a ridiculously easy choice… Luke Evans. He is perfect! Richard has that inborn elegance and the drive to always do the right thing, yet he is also broken. Charlotte is a much harder choice; we finally settled on Diane Kruger. She is beautiful and elegant and yet you know that if she was driven to the edge, she would be capable of ruthless acts.

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Christal’s Review – 4 ½ Skulls – A

Steel’s Edge by Ilona AndrewsBook #4 in The Edge series
Publication Date: 27 Nov 2012
Kindle Book Purchased from Amazon

Ilona Andrews is my favorite writing duo and I enjoy both of their series, The Edge and Kate Daniels. The Edge has always been a little harder to classify than the fairly straight-up urban fantasy of Kate Daniels, but I think that is what I love so much about these books. Each one is a little bit different and each of the main couples have the freedom to develop in their own ways.

Charlotte and Richard were very interesting. Charlotte’s power as a healer was a great change from the flash magic that we have seen in the other books. Her seduction by the dark side of her power was pretty thrilling and made the reader wonder if she was going to be able to come out of it alive and still be herself. I thought that Richard helped to balance her well, but she kept him on his toes by going head-to-head with him in everything. She was no wilting flower and she didn’t let him treat her as such; she’s The Healer after all! I have to say that I have been looking forward to a Richard book since Bayou Moon, but I was very invested in both of their backstories and loved when they finally came together as a couple. Richard was so heroic and dashing, but I really enjoyed seeing his playful side come through — especially when he was dealing with Kaldar!

Ilona Andrews writes the absolution best depiction of children you don’t want to strangle. I loved seeing Jack and George again. Those boys can make me smile and laugh and then turn around and break my heart in every book they are in. I enjoy seeing them involved in the complex adult plots and intrigue, but I also appreciate the moments when you are reminded that they are really just still kids. I thought Sophie’s expanded role was amazing and was so caught up in her damaged psyche and the way that she has learned to cope with the trauma she experienced. I liked seeing her connect with Charlotte.

The plot moved at a good clip and there was never a dull moment. It was nice to get the little cameos from most of the previous characters, though I did miss William and Cerise (they are my favorites!). I liked that all of the major plotlines were tied up and the overall story felt finished. I hope that one day, Ilona Andrews is able to return to the world of The Edge… especially because we need a story starring Jack and George!

Rating: ☠ ☠ ☠ ☠ ☠

We are giving away one (1) copy of Steel’s Edge by Ilona Andrews. This giveaway is open to US readers only. Winner can choose from paperback or e-book format. The contest will run from Tuesday, 4 Dec until 12:00 AM on Sunday, 9 Dec. Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter below.

Ilona Andrews

Ilona Andrews is the pseudonym for a husband-and-wife writing team. Ilona is a native-born Russian and Gordon is a former communications sergeant in the U.S. Army. Contrary to popular belief, Gordon was never an intelligence officer with a license to kill, and Ilona was never the mysterious Russian spy who seduced him. They met in college, in English Composition 101, where Ilona got a better grade. (Gordon is still sore about that.)

Gordon and Ilona currently reside in Texas with their two children, and many dogs and cats. They have co-authored two series, the bestselling urban fantasy of Kate Daniels and romantic urban fantasy of The Edge. Visit their website to learn more.

Christal

Hi everyone, I’m Christal. I am married to a wonderful guy and work in the education field. Reading is my preferred hobby and I never leave home without a book or my e-reader. I will read any book that catches my eye, but my favorite genres are urban fantasy, paranormal romance, fantasy, steam punk, historical fiction, and dystopian/post apocalyptic.

I loved Ilona and Gordon’s choices except for one– I thought of Declan more as Orlando Bloom. Now, I love Sean Bean– but he’s always so fricking serious, and I just pictured Declan differently, which is the beauty of books because I can picture the characters in my head any way I want. BAhahahahaha

I always got an Orlando Bloom as Legolas vibe from Declan as well, though I do think he would need to be a little older and more buff. I don’t picture Declan as big as say William, but I don’t picture him quiet as lean as Bloom either.

I already have a copy of the WONDERFUL Steel’s Edge.. but those casting choices are awesome. I also really enjoyed the fact that Steel’s Edge was quite a bit darker. It’s wonderful how I can still be surprised and moved with the books they write. It’s the power of their fantastic writing! 🙂